Just-in-time manufacturer saving time, money with system from HighJump
Eden Prairie, MN — June 21, 2005 — Sleep Innovations, a New Jersey-based just-in-time (JIT) manufacturer of foam bedding, sleep products and accessories, said today that its has implemented HighJump's transportation management system at three facilities to create an optimal transportation plan, eliminate error-prone manual processes, and reduce driver detention and chargebacks.
Sleep Innovations estimates that HighJump's Transportation Advantage has reduced the incidence of truck overloading errors by 75 percent through accurate volume calculations that can be reconfigured to react to changes in customer shipments. The system has also reduced driver detainment charges by an estimated 75 to 80 percent. This is possible through the creation of an optimal transportation plan that meets customer standards.
"It literally takes a few seconds to optimize a load containing hundreds of orders. I no longer waste time manually deriving bills of lading, cubing loads or calculating weights," said Greg Robinson, logistics manager for Sleep Innovations. "The flexibility of the system also allows us to reconfigure loads at the last minute without holding up the driver and incurring detention charges."
Sleep Innovations uses Transportation Advantage to plan and execute full and partial truckload shipments with accurate paperwork and labels that comply with each customer's unique specifications. The company said this has saved time in its plants and helps ensure customers receive the required documentation.
Sleep Innovations' customer service department has also virtually eliminated paperwork errors because electronic forms pull the correct data directly from Transportation Advantage when the system-assigned truck identification number is entered.
"Sleep Innovations is a fast-growing business and relies heavily on the execution of solutions like Transportation Advantage to achieve a lean, just-in-time production environment," said Jim Priestley, vice president of information technology for Sleep Innovations. "The increased speed with which we can optimize truck loading, as well as the of transportation-related data we can access, has had a dramatic impact on our bottom line and customer satisfaction."
For more information on transportation management systems, see the article "The Analyst Corner: Fulfillment & Logistics" in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
